When I was young, we had a few bridges in our rural neighborhood much like the old iron bridge in the above photo I took a few years ago.
Our bus driver would often let some of us older kids off the school bus to walk down a gravel road while he drove on to let one child off at their home a mile or so away. Then he would be back to pick us up where we waited at the old iron bridge.
As we were among the last to get off the bus, it was fun to be able to stretch our legs and run to see who got to the bridge first.
The creek that the bridge spanned was never very full of water. It might come up to our knees if we were to wade in it, though we knew better than to get near it.
Times have changed, haven't they? I can't imagine any bus driver doing such a thing today. He probably shouldn't have been doing it back then, but he knew he could trust us to behave.
In those days, everyone pretty much followed the rules and did exactly what the teacher or bus driver told you to do.
Perhaps not everyone.
There was always someone at one time or another that would see what they could get away with, but most of us knew if we got into trouble we would face punishment of some kind.
Especially when we got home and had to face our parents.
The ancient iron bridges are a thing of the past in our area. Most, if not all, have been replaced by safer, modern bridges.
I imagine those carefree days when it was safe to let children walk down a country road to wait on a school bus are gone, too.
Have a nice weekend!
xo Cheryl
This is such a vivid, wonderful, and poignant memory! Your photo of the bridge and trees really makes it come to life. A gorgeous picture. Now I need to look around and see if I can find one! I suppose if a bus driver did that today, he would be immediately fired.
ReplyDeleteHi Cheryl~
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful memory - I'm glad you wrote it down. The bridge is gorgeous, we don't have any left in our area, all have been replaced. I don't think we ever had the beautiful bridges like they have in the Eastern part of the country, those truly were epic.
You are so right about bus drivers, so many rules and regulations for them these days . . . I suppose it's best in some ways. We were just expected to behave ourselves, that's what we did, at least most of us. We had a great bus driver, we called him, Sheep, because at least a couple times a year, his sheep would get out, and we would help him herd them back home; him in the bus us on foot, he would bring ice cream bars for everyone the next day. That was a great memory, thank's for helping me remember.
Have a wonderful week-end!
Hugs and Love,
Barb
Cheryl, I loved reading your memory. I wish every blogger would post them , maybe for the weekends. It would be such fun to read more. We were raised the same...most kids were trustworthy. My siblings and I knew we would get in big trouble if we misbehaved in school...or disrespected elders. Once at school, I open the restroom door and a boy was running in the hall and ran into the door. It knocked him down, knocked off his glasses and the next day his eye was black. I never told my mom about that till I was forty. LOL Hey we are a pretty good generation. Blessings, xoxo, Susie
ReplyDeleteso true, a bus driver would be in big trouble if they did that these days. back then fear of the parents at home kept us in line. sounds like fun to me. I had to ride the bus most of my life except for 5 years in KY when I did the long walk in the snow and over the mountain thing. beautiful bridge pic
ReplyDeleteVery sweet memory. It's sad that times have changed so much. I remember a bridge similar to this one near the home where I grew up. Happy Weekend.
ReplyDeleteHe was a very caring bus driver.
ReplyDeleteIt was certainly a different world back then, Cheryl. Weren't we lucky when the worst thing someone did was write a naughty word on the bathroom wall?! We were all obedient in school and would never dare sass a teacher back.
ReplyDeleteI miss those carefree days for my grandchildren. They will never know what it is like to grow up in a world like that.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. xo Diana
That is a beautiful picture of the iron bridge. I enjoyed sharing in your memory. You are so right. A bus driver would be fired for doing such a thing today, but I am sure that yours was using his own judgement and he made a wise call, allowing school-weary children to work out some wiggles. You're also right about this: Knowing one's parents would back up the school authorities went a long way towards maintaining order!
ReplyDeletewhat a charming picture and story about the iron bridge. times have changed indeed.
ReplyDeleteLove your story. We still have a few of the old iron bridges. They are my favorites. xo Laura
ReplyDeleteReally a sweet story about an innocent time a lot of us shared. Sigh, I sure miss those days.
ReplyDeleteOh my! If I were to let a child walk unsupervised, that would be the end of my bus driving career.So many rules now and many of them kind of ridiculous. Times have changed, though and children don't obey as well as they used to. Some still does you know they have good instruction at home.
ReplyDeleteIt so sad that Children of today don't get to have these kinds of experiences. I feel like they are not really as free. I think it is reallly sad that they don't play outside as much and enjoy the games and fun things we did as children. I know my grandchildren haven't climbed trees or went roller skating and etc.
ReplyDeleteI love reading this memory today; it brought memories to me. Blessings and hugs!
Hi!
ReplyDeleteTrying to hold the door open to comment.
DeleteNope. Guess it will just serve to say I enjoyed reading this memory.
DeleteOh Cheryl, what a beautiful photo! Absolutely perfect for your memory.. I could just see your empty school bus crossing it! Life was so different then, wasn't it? Seems like a lifetime ago... I remember once..it has rained a lot and for the most part, our country roads were all gravel (never pavement) This one family lived on a dirt road. Well, our driver thought he could make it going down there! Wrong!! Big mistake..we were stuck! Ha Ha! Of course he had to walk somewhere and use a phone to call for help...Finally another one came and got us! We were late for our classes but wasn't our fault!!!
ReplyDeleteSweet memories...thank you! Have a good day!
Gert
Great memories.... I have good memories of an old Swinging Bridge near our Ball Park in my hometown of Big Stone Gap, VA.... That old rickity bridge was always scary to cross --but as kids, we did it.... So many great memories...
ReplyDeleteI have a good blog post today about our visit to a Slot Canyon in Arizona recently... You would enjoy seeing the pictures I think..
Hugs,
Betsy
Lovely post about a lovely memory! There was a bridge similar to your picture on my bus route when I was in grade school. The bus driver had to do a K turn to get the bus on the next country road. Part of the turn the bus looked like it was going to go in the creek and the kids all squealed every time. This was in the early 50's...simpler times.
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